This is why you do not buy a car off ebay without checking

[Zak33]

but tastes better

[DR]

heh you worry me

[Angus]

and once ya've done that..... go buy some wonder wheels... and some zymol cleaner wax for the overall finish!!!!!!

I'm loving this zymol stuff.... smells sooooooooo nice.. and works soooooooo well!!! I should have taken Lowe's advice a loooooooong loong time ago!!

Already got the wonder wheels

[Angus]

Cheers Zak.

You've inspired some hope

[Moby-Dick]

Angus , as far as the chassis work goes , shop aroudn for a lot of quotes.

If I@d paid garage raites for a lot of the work I've had done to the 200 I'd be bankrupt.

eg swapping the rear diff. Nissan charge £500 :gasp:

I had it done for £100.

I woudl imagine that the mx5 owners club will have a few mechanics who are looking for work and at very reaosnable rates.

you'll also hav the advantage of knowing that they know the car.

I wont let anyone else apart from the sxoc lot near my 200 after a "regular" garage nearly killed it.

[Zak33]

Cheers Zak.

You've inspired some hope

with a car with a reputation as good as that, there is always hope

I bet it will Ebay if you get it running....but I'd work toward getting it sorted

[Angus]

Well spent a few hours last night and some today polishing up the car.

Wow.

Cheers Zak - It's come up a dream!

At least it looks nice now (even if it won't get an MOT )

Having some trouble with the bumpers at the moment, as well as the front passenger side wing - I think the wing has been resprayed at some stage, and I was expecting the plastic bits to be harder anyway.

As to getting it going....

Bought some new plugs and leads and have fitted the leads (need to get my toolkit before I can change the plugs). I don't think it's solved the 3 cylinder problem, however, looking at the leads one was greasy, whilst the rest were dry - I'm guessing that the greasy one is my problem - suggestions anyone??

Hopefully, the new plugs will help.

[Jiff Lemon]

Don't suppose you've got a compression guage in that toolkit?
Misfires can be cause by any number of things but they boil down into three distinct flavours.
1) Electrical - lack of spark
2) fuel - Lack of, or too much
3) Mechanical - the worse sort - Lack of compression (very bad) or gaskets (not so bad)

[Angus]

No

No compression guage.

How do they work, what do they look like - I'm guessing they're expensive.

The bloke at the garage said he suspected it was electrical, and they didn't think it was mechanical - I unfortunately didn't think much of it at the time - I was still trying to overcome the shock of the chassis.

[Lowe]

Zymol Cleaner Wax is actually a mild abrasive and does exactly what Zak suggested though it's pre mixed.

Don't get using it too often XTR - save it for special occasions! And don't use Zymol Cleaner Wax in circles, rub it in straight lines.

[Angus]

Zymol Cleaner Wax is actually a mild abrasive and does exactly what Zak suggested though it's pre mixed.

Don't get using it too often XTR - save it for special occasions! And don't use Zymol Cleaner Wax in circles, rub it in straight lines.

Only if you've got a metallic car - if your car is a solid colour, use the circular actions.

[XTR]

Only if you've got a metallic car - if your car is a solid colour, use the circular actions.

RTFM hehehe.... the instructions on the zymol stuff tells ya to rub in straight lines.... makes it easy for polishing

My arm feels like its about to drop off today..... Polished 2 cars... in 2 days....

My dad bought a VERY cheap Vectra so i decided to give it a bloody good clean.... I didnt wanna waste my Zymol wax on it so i used some cheapo carplan polish and T-cut.... (Zak's tip )

here's the before and after photos........


BEFORE



AFTER (the black trim has been done now... )




Then i decided last night to polish my dads old car....




Half T-cut and Polish works a treat but the special mixture isn't going to be used on my car...... Only decent stuff for my car... either Zymol or i'm going to buy the 3 stage Meguirers stuff Cleaner, Polish, Wax

[Zak33]

looking good guys

[Nox]

As to getting it going....

Bought some new plugs and leads and have fitted the leads (need to get my toolkit before I can change the plugs). I don't think it's solved the 3 cylinder problem, however, looking at the leads one was greasy, whilst the rest were dry - I'm guessing that the greasy one is my problem - suggestions anyone??

Hopefully, the new plugs will help.

the outside of the leads doesn't make a lot of difference, if there is crap inside the ends however, it may well cause problems. but if you've tried new leads:

first things first, have you figured which cylinder it isn't firing on? if not, disconnect a lead, starting at the front, working backwards. when it makes no dfference to the engine, you've found your cylinder. new spark plugs - cool. plug one into the end of the cable of the knackered cylider and see if it sparks - it will need earthing against the engine, if you plan to hold it, use a big lump of cloth, nothing that may ignite tho

if its sparking, hopefully its the plug, which you're replacing anyway. if it isn't, and you've replaced the cables, and the other plugs are fine, i would think its most likely the distributor, which may need contacts cleaning and/or new rotor arm/distributor cap, maybe. metal can get a 'glaze' of glass like stuff, you can try cleaning all the contacts before buying them. well, thinking about my own car here, but principle should still be the same.

if its not electrical, it may be that the cylinder is not getting any fuel - the car looks untidy, can only assume the engine also looks untidy, so maybe the injector got some crap in it? you can try injector cleaner, but i would look at taking that injector out and checking it properly, best ask the mx5 site about that though, i know how to do mine... compression test would be a good idea at some point, check its ok - good compression = good performance!

Nox

[mammoo]

its got lots going for it tho.

Red WILL come back, even when that faded. Soon as he wants advice get him to Post Here...I'll explain a good method for colour restorer....and DONT let him near it with T Cut or I'l shout at him

The Floor is quite damamged huh?

Sorry for dragging up such an old thread. Zak33 I'm planning to use your t-cut/polish method to try and restore my pink MR2 Couple of quick questions; How long should you work the mixture into each 1 foot section? Will the car need waxing after this to prevent it going pink again straight away? Thanks for your help!

[Zak33]

Sorry for dragging up such an old thread. Zak33 I'm planning to use your t-cut/polish method to try and restore my pink MR2 Couple of quick questions; How long should you work the mixture into each 1 foot section? Will the car need waxing after this to prevent it going pink again straight away? Thanks for your help!

do it in a short session of only a max of a minute, then polish it off.

yes ALWAYS polish it immediately after you've finished with the tcut... cos tcut is evil harsh stuff...don't forget you're effectively taking some of the paint off..you'll see on the cloth!

the biggest issue is getting a good finish all over...not in patches

Start small...on an MR2.. that's the roof.